The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1887-05-06
A SHREWD OLD PANTHER.
How He Lay for a Minnesota
Hunter and Attacked Him
Four Times.

New York Sun, .,~ax --g1s~
| was talking with anassSaa man 1lall.
tue other day who had been through
two or three Indian campaigns,
killed grizzlies, trapped wolves, and
had "A hundred stirring adventures
in wild lite, and | asked him to
name the closest call he ever had.
"Well, the tightest squeeze |
ever had came in queer mauner,"
he replied. 81 had come home TO
Minnesota to get well of stab
given me in an Indian fight in Yves.
tern Dakota, and the wound was
vet sore when friend and myself
got our traps together,. and went
up among the lakes forming the
source of the Mississippi river to
have hunt. 1t was about the
middle of December when we got
into camp, and my strange advent
ure began almost at once. We
pitched our site ior a camp about
10 O'Clock in the morning, and be-
fore night had our sbanty complet
ed. The hard work OF tue day irri-
tated my wound and made me
feverish, aud about ten O'Clock AT
uleht, as we were ready TO turn IN,
| took a pail and started to the
spring for some water. The spring
was about three hundred feet away,
with open woods between. The
night was clear aud still, with a
light frost beginning to fall, and
the slightest noise could be heard.
When | was halt way to the spring
| heard chipmunk, weasel or some
small animal OF the sort running on
the leaves Il hundred feet away, and
the sounds actually startled me.
Then | heard a squirrel run up a
tree, and l followed him afar up the |
by the sounds OF his claws |
ON the bark. | believe the report
Of a rifle could have been heard |
three miles on such night.
II reached the spring, dipped up
a pail of water, aud drank heartily, |
and theu stood for a moment en-
ioying tue night aud the appalling
Stiffness. Presently | heard a pc.
cnliar sound down beyond the
spring. | can't tell you why or
how KNEW the sound was made by
some Wild beast dropping to the
ground from a tree, but that was
my impression. 1t was sly ac
lion on the part of the beast, and
On a windy night could not have
been heard twenty feet. 1t went
through me like "a flash that pan
.her which had been roosling IN
,ne of the big trees just across the
,pen space beyond the spring had
lropped down to attack me, and L
started TOR the shauty like streak
IF lightning. had made no mis-
AXE in Jumping TO conclusions.
As belted away terrible scream
overlook me, and | made clean
umps of ten feet after that. We
,ad "A couple of hounds at the cab
n. and they we're curled mp and
.sIeep when left it. The yell of |
he panther brought 'em out mighty
sudden, and supposed this saved
nv life. The beast wasn't thirty
eet behind me when the hounds
net and passed me, aud the next
Instant there was shindy which
would bave made your hair stand ,
I'D. / jumped into the door of the
lbauty lust 10 time to collide With
nv partuer and roll both on the
Ioor. and before we could get our
runs and get ont the affair was 4
,ver-that is, one OF the dogs was '
,hawed to death, the other half '
,illed. aud the panther had made {
IT. Ii was certainly q narrow es-
.ape for me, and was weak in the /
,nees when / came to thlnk it over.
awe did not hear from the beast G
gain for three days. We put our G
Iinety traps along the sWamps aud !
reeks. aud found abundance Of q
-ame in the woods. On the fourth q
av. about 10 o'clock IN the morn-
az. while my partner was cleaning Q
1s gun aud dressing on some Tab- ,
ats for dinner, went out to look g
( some traps set the night before. q